Loch Ness Monster Reportings on the Rise After Sighting on Apple Maps

Images of what is reportedly the infamous monster of Scotland's Loch Ness has spawned a spate of copycat sightings since the mythical creature was supposedly captured on Apple Maps by amateur Loch Ness Monster spotters last year.

Photos of what appears to be a creature roughly 100 feet in length floating under the surface of the North End of Loch Ness, a large freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands, has recently gone viral in media reports and online forums.

Glen Campbell, 49, the founder and president of The Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, which has been studying the images for months, told ABC News he's received at least two more reports of similar sightings of the elusive plesiosaur known as "Nessie," since they went public.

The pictures taken on satellite imagery by Apple for its smartphone maps were first flagged by two people late last year. Andrew Dixon and Peter Thain both separately sent images in to the Nessie Fan Club, which contains a register for every Loch Ness Monster sighting since 565 A.D., according to Campbell.

After much debate and speculation, the group decided to take the pictures to Scottish Canals, a government entity responsible for managing Scotland's waterways, where authorities also "had no idea what it was," he said.

ABC News could not immediately reach Scottish Canals for comment.

"The interesting thing is that nobody has been able to explain what it is," Campbell said. "It's pretty large, so it's not a seal or an otter. It's also not a whale or basking shark as some people claim, because they wouldn't go in fresh water."

Apple Maps

The location, near the village of Dores, shows a strange-looking form in the water.

Campbell is also convinced the unidentified object is not a boat.

"When you look at it, it looks like it could be a boat, but on the right-hand side, if you look at the various images taken from Apple maps, you can see the other boats moored on the shore, which do not look similar at all," he said.

Campbell, who is a professional chartered accountant in Inverness, Scotland, said he had spotted Nessie with his own eyes once before. He was sitting in his car near the loch in March 1996 when he saw what he described as a "mini whale" duck out and back into the water twice.

"I went to report it and there was nobody keeping a list of all the sightings and the last logging had been done in 1985," Campbell said. "We also realized Nessie didn't have a fan club."

The incident motivated Campbell and his artist wife, Kathleen Campbell, 46, to form the Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, which now boasts 353 members. The pair claim they run the hobby site "for fun" and do not profit from it. Campbell also said he hasn't seen Nessie since the first time.

"If you see the Loch Ness more than twice, people think you've been drinking," he said.

The most recent supposed sighting ended an 18-month drought during which time no one reported seeing the Loch Ness Monster, Campbell said, adding that hasn't happened since 1925.

"We really have got a mystery, which is great," he said. "It keeps us all going here and it's elicited another couple of sightings, which is great as well because it's brought [Nessie] back into the forefront of the public imagination."